


The Paradoxical Life of Indiana Clark

by yohoyohoafandomlifeforme



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, NOT A TIME LORD OC, Romance, Slow Burn, Time Jumping, Time Travel, a little bit of fix it, and some from the tv show, but mostly canon compliant, some original adventures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29041701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yohoyohoafandomlifeforme/pseuds/yohoyohoafandomlifeforme
Summary: Katherine Indiana Clark has an excessively boring life. Until she meets an alien and starts jumping through time.Her life is now full of adventure, friendship, romance, a purple plastic cup - all tied together by one giant mystery. Everyone else seems to love keeping secrets from her; and no one can or will help her figure out how she got here. Armed with only a letter from herself and her stubborn nature, only she can find the answer behind her new not-quite-human life.~~~yes it's a bad summary maybe i'll fix it when the story is more finished but it's another oc time jumping story i swear there's a lot more going on here
Relationships: The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Indie's First Paradox

I really think the universe is out to get me sometimes.

Ok, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but when you’re the only waitress working in a busy diner full of angry customers and a cook that keeps messing up your orders, it feels like if there’s any kind of higher power, they’re out to get you. 

It all started when the group of twenty-three high schoolers decided to come in at the beginning of my shift. They’ve been here a whopping four hours and still haven’t paid. Adding all the other smaller tables full of bad tippers, Karen’s, and the headache I’d had all day; yeah, I think I might’ve cried when the next server showed up (and hour, late, but whatever, it’s not like I have plans tonight) and I could finally go home.

“You sure you don’t wanna stay Kathy? That big table hasn’t paid yet, you haven’t even gotten the tip!” Madison asks, as I put on my jacket to finally head home.

“It’s Katherine, not Kath- whatever.” She always calls me Kathy, no matter how much I insist that I hate the nickname. I’ve never really vibed with Katherine as a name either (I mean, Katherine Clark? Really? Could my parents have picked a more boring name?), but Kathy makes me sound like an 8th grade mean girl. “You can keep the tip, Madison. It’s been a long day, I just wanna go home.”

Madison only shrugs in response before leaving the kitchen and heading back to the dining area. With my coat on, I grab my bag to follow her out of the kitchen. “Have a good night Clark!” I heard the cook, Rafael, yell after me.

“You too!” I practically ran out of the diner, ignoring the glare Madison gave me when she realized just how busy the place was. I couldn’t feel less bad; maybe if she had actually been on time for once, I would’ve been willing to stay longer. 

When I finally made it out the door, it was like a weight lifted from my shoulders. And exactly two seconds later, the rain started. Was it on the forecast this morning? No. But as previously mentioned, the universe is out to get me, so of course I had to walk 15 minutes home in the rain. If I was a betting woman, I’d put 10 bucks on the rain stopping the second I get inside my apartment building. With the rain pouring down against my dark skin, ruining my curls, The only thing I could focus on is walking as fast as possible without slipping on the sidewalk. Maybe, if it hadn’t been raining, I would’ve noticed the world fading. Or if I hadn’t been so bothered by the headache that still hadn’t gone away despite the ibuprofen I took 2 hours ago, I’d be paying more attention to the weird voices that were growing louder and louder. But I didn’t notice any of that until the ground disappeared from under my feet, and I was surrounded by what I could only describe as infinite darkness. 

I tried to speak, to yell, to call for help, but my voice only got drowned out by all the others. It was like I could hear everyone on the entire planet talking at once; I couldn’t decipher any of it. I was just floating in the darkness, until I wasn’t. As quickly as it all started, I began falling, and falling, and falling; it felt endless. I thought I was dying. Maybe I got hit by a car during my walk home? Or what if the ibuprofen Rafael lent me was actually acid? He doesn’t seem like the drug type, but who knows?

I didn’t get the chance to theorize more because I was suddenly on solid ground once more, and the darkness faded away as I groaned in pain. I’d landed on my back, and I already felt the bruises developing all around my body. My eyes needed a minute to come back into focus, but when I finally regained my eyesight and the ability to stand, I realized that I had ended up in a completely unknown place. 

It’s a circular, metal room. Probably the size of my whole apartment; which is kind of embarrassing for me considering the room isn’t that big. Some kind of computer system was in the middle, with lots of random buttons, levers, and wheels, none of which really seemed to match each other. There were some stairs leading to various hallways; but other than that the room’s empty. And cold. Or that’s just because I’m still soaking wet from the rain. 

What are you supposed to do when you fall down a rabbit hole and wake up in a foreign location? I should be scared, trying to find a way back, maybe running out the door I noticed to my left; but I feel oddly at home in this place. More at home than I ever do in my apartment, anyways. Maybe it’s just some kind of dream? Or a coma?

“Indie! You’re back, good! It’s been absolutely horrid without you here, I’ve only had Clara for company for two whole weeks.” The British accent startled me, and I turned around to find a tall guy with floppy hair and a bowtie heading towards me. Behind him was a short brunette woman, wearing an adorable dress and an annoyed look on her face.

“Are you always this rude to your guests?” She asked - also British, I must be dreaming of London or something - before she looked towards me. “Will you at least introduce me?”

“Yes, yes, of course. Indie, this is Clara, although I’m sure you’ve already met her, Clara, this is Indiana Clark.” The man talked with his hands, pointing and clapping and signalling unnecessarily, before he took in my appearance. “Why’re you all wet?”

“Uh…” I really don’t know how to answer that, or process any of this. This guy was acting like he knew me, and that it’s perfectly normal for me to be here, and that I know this girl and she doesn’t know me, and on top of all that, he isn’t even calling me by my first name. But I’m me, and I don’t like admitting when I don’t know what’s going on, so instead of asking about any of that, my brain scrambled to come up with anything else to say. “...it was raining.” He only furrowed his brows, so I continued, “I don’t have an umbrella.” He looked me up and down, almost like he knew that I had absolutely no idea what was going on just from the two sentences. The woman however, Clara, didn’t seem to notice anything at all.

“Well it’s great to finally meet you! The Doctor’s been going on and on about you, waiting for you to pop up.” She closed the gap between us and held out her hand for me to shake, which I accept. “I’ll make him wait to take us anywhere until you have a chance to shower and change.” She whispered, like she was trying to assure me. 

“T-thanks.” I stuttered, the cold from the rain causing me to shiver. There’s a bit of an awkward silence after that - _shit_ , they’re expecting me to go change. In the bathroom that I definitely know the location of.

“Where’d you come from?” The guy asked, the look of concern still written all over his face.

“...New York?” I answer, unsure of what he meant. Clearly, this wasn't the answer he was looking for, so he tried again.

“You mean New New York, right? Or the Great Depression New York?” When I don’t answer, he tries again, “Or me and the Ponds? In Manhattan?” Again, I don’t have an answer for him.

“Uh, Doctor-” Clara tried to start, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he only pushed it off. He took a desperate step towards me, and I took one back, using the console as space between us. This only seemed to upset him more.

“Indie - do you know who I am? Have we met before?”

“...No?”

More silence. “I’m, uh.. I’m gonna go get some coffee.” Clara said awkwardly, before quickly turning and heading out the door. 

He was mumbling under his breath now, something about _“warnings”_ and _“spoilers”_ , as he circled the console and pressed random buttons. He pressed a final button, and a ding rang from the computer, startling me. Nothing happened except for a cookie ejecting near me, as if it was a DVD. I looked back up at him, and he’s crossed his arms, looking at me expectantly. “Go on. It’s just how you like it. Warm and doughy.” I grabbed the cookie, and he was right; a perfect snickerdoodle cookie, exactly how I like them. 

“Thanks.” I mumbled, before breaking off a piece and putting it in my mouth. 

“I’m sorry. If I freaked you out a bit before. I just, uh,” His hands flailed about again, “I haven’t seen you this young before. If I’d known this was happening soon I would’ve figured out a good way to explain everything, which really, you could’ve given me a heads up last time we saw each other - I know there are spoilers and all, but -” He cut his ramble off when he noticed the confused look I was giving him. 

“I’m eating a cookie made by a computer, and yet you’re still the weirdest thing in this room.” I say. Unexpectedly, this made him laugh.

“I’m the Doctor, I’m the weirdest thing in every room.”

“The Doctor?” He nods. “That’s your real name? The Doctor?” He nods again. I really want to know what the hell is happening - where I am, who he is, why he knows me - but I can't bring myself to voice any of those questions, so we fall into yet another awkward silence as I take another bite of my cookie.

"You don't have any questions?" He asks, taking a small step towards me. This time, I allow it.

"Nope." I lie. One look and I know he knows that I lied, but I don't back down. I'll die on this ship.

"None at all." This time he had a bit of a smirk on his face. Ok, now I definitely won't admit a thing. When I don't respond, He rolls his eyes. "So If I were to say I’m a time traveling alien, and your DNA is fused to my timeline and now you jump around my timeline and meet me all in the wrong order - that would make perfect sense to you, right?"

I take another bite of my cookie as I process all the information he dumped on me. Obviously, that would _not_ make any sense to me. It sounds like the plot to a bad episode of Star Trek, not something that happens to random waitresses from Long Island. I can't even begin to understand what that's supposed to mean. How can someone jump around a timeline? Ot get their DNA fused to one? And he said alien, right? Am I just supposed to blow past that like it's no big deal? Sure there had been some crazy theorists over the years about alien invasions and stuff...sure, maybe aliens can be real. But him? This weird guy, standing in front of me, looking perfectly human? 

At this point, if I don't say anything it'll seem like I conceded. " _If_ you were to say that...I would say I don't believe you."

He looked a little annoyed, but my response seemed to be expected. “Sure, of course, why would you believe me? What will it take? Alien planet? Far future? Distant past?” He started running around the console, touching every switch in sight. The room started violently shaking, so I grabbed onto the console with all my strength. There was a weird wheezing noise as he continued, now yelling over the chaos, “Hit that red button!” looked down, seeing what was probably hundreds of buttons, and slammed on the first red one I saw. The Doctor continued for one more moment, before the world came to a crashing halt. “We’re here.” He grabbed a blazer that had been draped over a chair, throwing it on and heading towards the door. “Come along, Clark! You wanted proof!”

I hesitantly follow him out the door. I’m still not entirely sure this isn’t all a dream, and I can’t even pretend to understand any of the Doctor’s previous explanation, but my gut told me that whatever was outside those doors would be amazing. So, I grabbed the hair tie off my wrist, throwing up my now semi-dry and very messed up curls into a bun before heading out the door. 

What I found outside was - for lack of better words - _fucking insane_. First of all, the sky was green. Bright, vivid, green. All around us was what appeared to be some kind of farmer’s market - only there didn’t seem to be a human in sight. There were double-headed creatures, and people with pink skin, and winged-creatures flying above us. At this point, I know it can’t be a dream - there’s no way I could imagine anything this cool. But the coolest thing of all isn’t until I turn back towards the Doctor; and I finally see how we got here.

“What?” He just smiles at me, watching as I walk around the wooden box - yes, you read that right, wooden box - that we had just emerged from. “It’s - It can’t -” I struggle to find the words.

“Oh, but it does.” He winked at me, throwing an arm around my shoulder, “Indie, meet the TARDIS. My ship.”

“TARDIS?”

“Yup. Time and Relative Dimension In Space. And as you can see…” He turns us both around, showing off the world he brought me to, “It does indeed travel in time and space. So there’s your proof.”

“Where are we?” I ask, letting the Doctor lead me away from the impossible ship and into the farmer’s market.

“39th century. The 3rd moon of Tralipone. It’s basically just a giant shopping mall.” We walked slowly, so I could take everything in. “You hungry?”

10 minutes later, I was eating some alien food that tastes like orange chicken, despite the Doctor assuring me that it’s not. “So.” I start, “You said that I jump around your timeline? What does that mean?” Yes, I, the most stubborn person on the 3rd moon of Tralipone, had to admit defeat and get some answers.

“Well, before you showed up in the TARDIS, you had a bit of a headache, right?” I nod, so he continues, “Well, whenever that happens, your body gets pulled to another point in my timeline. For some reason, you don’t go too far into my past - I met you when I was around 900. I have some theories-” 

“I’m sorry…” I cut him off, “Did you say 900? How old are you now?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.. 1200? Give or take a hundred? It’s hard to keep track. Anyways, we’ve known each other a long time, but we never meet in the same order. Sometimes you know all about my future, sometimes you’ve been in my past, and right now, you’re meeting me for the very first time. Very wibbly wobbly.”

“Can I control when I jump?”

“Er - no. I’m working on that. It’s mostly random, and you usually only stay for a few days, maybe a week or two.”

“What about my home? I have a life, a job - I can’t do any of that if I’m jumping around time with you.”

The Doctor looked apologetic, avoiding eye contact with me for the first time since I arrived. “I could drop you back off, if you really wanted. But,” He paused, like he was debating what to say next, “You’ve never really shown an interest before. Or, you won’t, I mean.”

“You mean that in the future, my future, I just won’t care about my life?”

“Not that you don’t care about your old life, just that you enjoy our, uh, your new life.”

God, this is insane. I honestly don’t know why I’m still entertaining this as my actual life now. “There’s still something I don’t get...you said you’ve known me for hundreds of years - I’m just pretending that you being able to live that long is perfectly normal for now by the way, I’m not at all past that - but you introduced me to Clara as Indiana Clark. Why?”

The Doctor furrowed his eyes, obviously not expecting a question like that, “Um, it’s your name?”

“No it’s not.”

“Yes it is.”

“Doctor, I think I know my own name.”

“Well, I think I know my - I know your name!”

“Is Indiana Clark my full name?”

“Uh,” He stopped, suddenly unsure of himself. “Course it is. Why wouldn’t it be. That’s what you introduced yourself as.”

“Doctor, Indiana is my middle name.” He just looked at me like I’d gone crazy or something. “My first name is Katherine.”

“Katherine?!” I nodded, and his eyes widened even more at the discovery. “Well why didn’t you tell me sooner! I’ve been calling you Indie for 300 years!”

“I don’t know, I haven’t done it yet!” He continued to gape, shocked that my future self hadn’t revealed the truth. “Although…Indie is kind of a cool name.” I pause, thinking about it. “Way better than Katherine.”

“Oh great, Indie’s first paradox. Lovely.” He mumbled, stabbing a fork into his own food and taking a bite, clearly still annoyed that he’d never known my first name until today.

“What do you mean? Paradox?”

“You never thought to start going by your middle name before, but you found out that your future self goes by Indie, so now you’re changing your name to Indie. Which means one day you’ll introduce yourself to me as Indiana Clark, and…”

“And that will cause you to only call me Indie, which makes me realize I want to change my name now.” I finish, even though I don’t entirely understand.

“Exactly. Happens a lot when you’re a time traveler, especially to you. Speaking of…” The Doctor reached into his coat pocket, searching for something. While he dug in the pockets (seriously, they aren’t that big, what’s taking him so long?), I notice my head begin to hurt again. Finally, he pulls out a letter and hands it to me. “That’s from you. Said to give it to you when you meet me for the first time.”

“It’s from me? Like future me?”

“Yeah. Don’t forget to write it later.” I shake my head at the insanity of it all, and begin to open the letter, before I’m once again distracted by the throbbing in my head. Unlike earlier today, the pain intensifies much more quickly.

“Doct-” I don’t get a chance to finish my sentence before I get plunged into the similar darkness I’d experienced earlier.


	2. Swimming In The Library

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's some dialogue/plot from The Eleventh Hour in this one, so everything recognizable is not mine :)

You know, there are a lot of terrifying things about my new life. An unknown force is controlling me as I travel through time with an alien. An alien who has known me for hundreds of years. And I apparently have no control over when or where I jump. But none of that is as terrifying as coming to from the darkness I’d been in and finding myself plummeting to my death.

So here I am, screaming my brains out, flying through the air and still clutching that letter in my hand as if it could somehow save my life - when the TARDIS suddenly appears below me. So I’m no longer falling to my death, now I’m falling into a pool. I landed with a splash, thanking any and every god that may be out there that the water had been there, no matter how much it hurt to land in it.

When I finally resurfaced, the Tardis had landed...ish. I wasn’t even in the actual pool; all the water had fallen out and settled in what looked like a hallway. I don’t even know why there’s a pool in here.

“Indie! You’re back!” I turned and saw the Doctor swimming towards me. His floppy hair was now sticking to his forehead, and instead of a bow tie he wore a raggedy suit. “Fantastic! How do you like the face?

“Uh..” This guy really couldn’t be weirder. “It’s nice?” I answer, struggling to stay afloat. “Hey, quick question, what’s going on with the TARDIS?”

“Well,” He starts, grabbing my hand and leading me out of the “pool,” and to what looked like bookshelves, so we can begin the journey out of the TARDIS. “When I changed I may have accidentally damaged her, and my mind is a bit scrambled so flying her was a little difficult. Luckily, I caught you, but we seem to have crash landed. Don’t worry though, it’s perfectly safe in here.” A nearby pipe broke just as he finished speaking. “Ok, it’s mostly safe in here.” 

We finally managed to pull ourselves out of the water, and looking up, I saw that we had a long way to the TARDIS exit. “Where’s Clara then?” I ask, climbing behind him.

“Who?

“Clara, you literally just introduc-”

“Spoilers! You’re usually better than this, Clark. I’ve only just regenerated.” 

“What does that even mean?” I ask, but the Doctor either doesn’t hear me or just got distracted as he found something.

“Ah! Knew I had one around here.” When I look up, I see that he’s holding a grappling hook. With the help of the hook, it didn’t take us much longer to climb out of the phone booth. The entire time, however, he would not shut up about how hungry he was. “I want pancakes. Oh, or a steak. Gordon Ramsey made me a steak once, and let me just say I was not impressed. No, I need something simple like an orange, or a peach, or…” He pulled himself up so his head was finally free of the TARDIS and momentarily stopped talking. When I followed his lead, I saw that we’d landed in someone’s backyard. And looking up at us was a little girl. “Could I have an apple? All I can think about. Apples. I love apples. Maybe I'm having a craving? That's new. Never had cravings before.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at his antics.

“Please, god, tell me you have an apple. Or anything for him to eat for that matter.” As I spoke, The Doctor pulled himself up on the edge of the TARDIS, then proceeded to help me get up as well. 

“Woah. Look at that!” He remarked, looking down into the smoking ship. He almost fell back in as he leaned over, so I grabbed his arm to keep him steady.

“Are you ok?” The redheaded girl finally spoke, revealing a cute Scottish accent. 

“Just had a fall. All the way down there, right to the library. Hell of a climb back up, right Indie?”

“You're soaking wet.” She remarked, looking us both up and down. 

“Yeah, we were in a swimming pool.” I explain. This is when I realize I’m still holding that letter. The paper envelope was so wet it was now breaking apart, but it looked like the letter inside had been laminated. Future me is clearly pretty smart.

“You said you were in the library.”

“So was the swimming pool.”

“Are you a policeman?” She asked. She didn’t seem to be scared of us - which is impressive for a little kid, cause I would’ve been terrified as an adult if some random guy crash landed in my backyard.

“Why? Did you call a policeman?” The Doctor asked in return, probably hoping we weren’t about to be arrested.

“Did you come about the crack in my wall?” The Doctor furrowed his brows, glancing at me before he looked back to the little girl.

“What crack-” He didn’t finish his question before he yelled in pain, then fell to the ground.

“Holy-” I stopped myself from finishing the sentence, given our young company, and hopped down to help the Doctor. “Are you ok?”

“No, I'm fine. It's okay. This is all perfectly norm-'' He suddenly stopped talking again, only this time it was because of some type of golden energy leaving his mouth. This guy just keeps getting weirder and weirder. 

“Who are you?” The little girl asked. Honestly, I’m impressed she hasn’t run away to her parents.

“I don't know yet. I'm still cooking. Does it scare you?” The Doctor asked, putting all his attention on the little girl.

“No, it just looks a bit weird.” She answered, causing me to let out a small laugh.

The Doctor sent me a look as he responded to her, “No, no, no. The crack in your wall. Does it scare you?”

This time, the kid actually looked a little worried. “Yes”.

“Well then, no time to lose. I'm the Doctor. Do everything I tell you, don't ask stupid questions, and don't wander off.” He says, standing up straight and marching towards the house. Before he could get far, he walked straight into a tree instead. I burst out laughing this time, while the little girl looked over him.

“Are you alright?” She asked, while I helped him up again.

“Early days. Steering's a bit off.”

The little girl led us into her home, eventually getting us into a small kitchen so the Doctor could finally get his apple.

“If you're a doctor, why does your box say Police?” The child asked, handing the Doctor an apple. He immediately took a bite, then spit it out.

“Gross!” I yelped, scooting away from where his food as it nearly landed on me.

“That's disgusting. What is that?” He asked. The man looked insulted at the mere idea of the fruit.

“An apple.” The redhead said, looking at him like he’s insane. Which, I’m starting to realize, he might be.

“Apple's rubbish. I hate apples.” He responded, putting it down. He began looking around the kitchen for something else to eat.

“You said you loved them!” She said, clearly annoyed.

“No, no, no. I like yoghurt. Yoghurt's my favourite. Give me yoghurt.”

As the kid went to the fridge to fetch the Doctor his yoghurt, I could sense where this was going. He’d probably keep on asking for food for a while, so I took this as my opportunity to finally read the letter. I set it down on the table we were sitting at, peeling off the rest of the wet paper to reveal the fully laminated letter. It was definitely my handwriting, and I found my signature placed at the bottom of the letter, only with one difference. Instead of being signed as “ _Katherine Clark_ ,” it was signed as “ _Katherine Indiana Clark_.” 

“I hate yoghurt. It’s just stuff with bits in.” I heard the Doctor say, before the little girl began to argue with him about his food taste again. I elected to ignore the rest of their conversation and begin reading. 

_ Indie, _

_ So I know what you’re thinking. If I remember correctly, you’re sitting in a kitchen with Amelia and a newly regenerated Doctor, and you’ve only been doing this shit for like an hour. I’m just gonna get straight into it; yes, everything the Doctor told you when you first met him was true. You’re a time traveler now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s gonna suck for a while, but it’s also going to be the greatest thing that’s ever happened to you. Honestly - If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. _

_ Enough with the sappy stuff though, you have questions, and I have some answers for you. Well, kind of. I can’t tell you everything without disrupting the timeline, but I can give you the basics. The Doctor is an alien, from a planet called Gallifrey. He’s called a Time Lord. Yes, that’s pretentious as shit. Don’t ask him about it. The only thing you need to know is that he does this thing called regeneration. Basically, whenever they sustain a life-threatening injury, their body will fix itself by literally changing every cell in their body. Looks, Personality; it’ll all change. The Doctor you’re with now just did it; that’s why he’s acting all weird. He’s not quite done. _

I took a break from reading and glanced up at the Doctor, who was now drying his hair with a towel and anxiously awaiting the food that the kid - Amelia, based off the letter - was making him. When he caught me staring, he gave me a smile. 

“What’re you reading?” I glanced back down at the letter, about to answer him, before I noticed the next line.

_ When he asks what you’re reading, just say “spoilers.” It’ll annoy him a bit, but he’ll back off. _

“Uh, spoilers.” He only rolled his eyes in response, before handing me the towel so I could get a chance to dry off. I graciously took it, throwing it over my shoulders before I continued reading.

_ I’d give you pictures of all those different faces, but honestly, you don’t need them. I don’t know why, but I was always able to just tell who the Doctor was when I met new faces. I’ve met six of their faces, but there could be so many more that I haven’t had the chance to meet.  _

_ Ok, next up: “Spoilers.” We’re a time traveler now, but we’re not just a normal time traveler. You’re gonna meet a lot of people, and at multiple points they’re going to know a lot about your future that they just can’t tell you yet. Similarly, you’re going to be friends with a bunch of people whose futures you can’t reveal. No matter how much you may want to. Messing with timelines is incredibly dangerous, so if you reveal the future too soon, the consequences are disastrous. If anyone ever says “spoilers,” just back off. They’ll do the same, for the most part. It helps if you keep a diary; you’ll be jumping around so much, keeping a diary helps keep track of the order of events for everyone else, so you don’t accidentally spoil something. _

_ Now I know none of this is what you really want to hear. You want to know why this is happening. Honestly, I wish I could tell you. But this is something you gotta figure out for yourself. No one, not even the Doctor, is going to solve this one for you. You’re gonna go on so many adventures, meet so many people; but this one thing is going to be up to you. The only thing I can tell you is what I was told all those years ago: You’re not quite human anymore.  _

_ When you get back into the TARDIS, make sure you tell the Doctor that you’re new. He should give you something. Don’t let him leave without you, trust me.  _

_ Good luck, _

_ Katherine Indiana Clark. _

I leaned back in the chair, shocked at everything in the letter. What the hell does she mean, I’m not quite human anymore? What else could I possibly be?

“Everything ok?” The Doctor’s voice brought me back out of my thoughts. I looked towards him to find him sitting down next to me with a plate of fish sticks and a bowl of pudding. I watched in horror as he dipped a fish stick into the pudding and ate it. 

“What the hell are you eating?”

“Fish fingers and custard.” He takes another bite, “Delicious.” 

“Is he always like this?” Amelia asked me, while eating some ice cream.

“Y’know, I think he is.” I answer, folding the letter back up and putting it into my back pocket. I finally shed the coat I had been wearing when I left work, and got started on drying off my hair.

“Funny.” She remarked, looking at the Doctor once more.

“Am I? Good. Funny's good. What's your name?” He asked. All that time she spent making him food, and he never asked her name?

“Amelia Pond.” She answered proudly.

“Oh, that's a brilliant name. Amelia Pond. Like a name in a fairy tale. Are we in Scotland, Amelia?”

“No. We had to move to England.” She rolled her eyes, “It's rubbish.”

“So what about your mum and dad, then? Are they upstairs? Thought we'd have woken them by now.” He had a point; I had been distracted by the letter, but I’m fairly certain he threw a plate at some point.

“I don't have a mum and dad. Just an aunt.” The Doctor and I both glanced at each other; I had a feeling she didn’t want any pity, so the Doctor wasn’t going to give it to her.

“I don't even have an aunt.” He replied, taking another bite of his fish stick.

“You're lucky.”

“I know. So, your aunt, where is she?” He asked. This time, he offered me a fish stick, which I ignored. Instead, I grabbed the second spoon Amelia had brought out and stuck it in his bowl, eating some of the pudding like a normal person.

“She's out.” Amelia answered.

“Out?” I asked, concerned, “You’re like 6, she left you here alone?”

“I’m 7, and I'm not scared.” Amelia clarified, glaring at me a little for getting her age wrong.

“Course, you're not. You're not scared of anything. Box falls out of the sky, a couple of people fall out of a box, man eats fish custard, and look at you, just sitting there. So you know what I think?”

“What?” Amelia asked, leaning in as she anticipated his answer.

“Must be a hell of a scary crack in your wall.”

When the Doctor finished his meal, if you can even call it that, Amelia led us up to her room. Once we got there, the crack Amelia had been scared of was obvious. It was 3 or 4 feet wide, and even I felt a little uneasy staring at it. 

“I’ll be right back.” Amelia said, running back downstairs, leaving us alone for a moment.

“Are you alright?” The Doctor asked me, not looking at the crack at all.

“Why do you keep asking me that?” I say, avoiding the question. Mostly because I am definitely not alright. 

“You’re just different today, is all.” He said with a shrug. I opened my mouth to respond, but Amelia had re-entered the room, holding an apple in her hand. “Well, Amelia, You've had some cowboys in here. Not actual cowboys, though that can happen.” The Doctor said, dropping the subject of my wellbeing for now. Amelia handed him the apple, which I saw now had a face cut into it.

“I used to hate apples, so my mum put faces on them.” She explained.

The Doctor smiled back at the apple, accepting it graciously. “She sounds good, your mum. I'll keep it for later.” He turned back to the wall, pressing his hands against it. “This wall is solid and the crack doesn't go all the way through it. So here's a thing. Where's the draught coming from?” He pulled some kind of device out of his pocket, scanning the wall with it. “Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey. You know what the crack is?” He asked.

“What?” Amelia asked. She reached out and grabbed my hand, clearly scared.

“It's a crack. But I'll tell you something funny. If you knocked this wall down, the crack would stay put, because the crack isn't in the wall.”

“How is that possible? Where’s the crack?” I ask.

The Doctor kept his focus on the wall as he answered, “Everywhere. In everything. It's a split in the skin of the world. Two parts of space and time that should never have touched, pressed together right here in the wall of your bedroom.” He paused, then looked back at Amelia, “Sometimes, can you hear?”

“A voice. Yes.” Amelia answers, squeezing my hand tight now. I could hear something, very faint, and clearly the Doctor did too. He grabbed a glass from Amelia’s nightstand and threw the water out, before putting it against the wall. He listened for a moment, before whispering, “Prisoner Zero?”

Amelia gasped, “Prisoner Zero has escaped. That's what I heard. What does it mean?”

The Doctor took a step back before answering her, “It means that on the other side of this wall, there's a prison and they've lost a prisoner. And you know what that means?”

“What?”

“You need a better wall. The only way to close the breach is to open it all the way. The forces will invert and it'll snap itself shut. Or-”

“What?” Amelia asked again.

“You know when grown-ups tell you everything's going to be fine and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better?” Amelia finally let go of my hand, crossing her arms in annoyance.

“Yes.” She rolled her eyes.

The Doctor smiled, “Everything's going to be fine.”

He grabbed Amelia’s hand, standing in between me and her. “Are you sure about this, Doctor?” I asked, not wanting to put Amelia’s life in any danger.

“Nope.” He whispered back, with a smile on his face. He then aimed his device at the crack ad pushed the button, causing it to immediately open. There was a light coming from it, before I heard what Amelia and the Doctor had been talking about.

“Prisoner Zero has escaped. Prisoner Zero has escaped.” The deep voice announced loudly.

“Hello?” There was no answer, so he tried again, “Hello?” My eyes widened when something finally appeared; a giant eye stared back at us through the crack.

“What the-” I say, before a light flies towards the Doctor, causing him to double over. I looked from him to the crack, only to see it quickly close.

“There, you see? Told you it would close. Good as new.” The Doctor said, pulling out of his pocket what looked like a wallet.

“What's that thing? Was that Prisoner Zero?” Amelia asked.

“No. I think that was Prisoner Zero's guard. Whatever it was, it sent me a message.” He held up his wallet thing, showing off to both me and Amelia. “Psychic paper. Takes a lovely little message.” He opened up the paper, then read aloud. “Prisoner Zero has escaped. But why tell us? Unless…” He stopped, looking around ominously.

“Unless what? Are we in some kind of danger?” I ask.

“Unless Prisoner Zero escaped through here. But he couldn't have. We'd know.” He walked back out to the hallway, looking around, “It's difficult. Brand new me. Nothing works yet. But there's something I'm missing. In the corner of my eye.” Before we could do anything else, a loud bell started going off.

“Is that-” I started, before the Doctor interrupted me.

“No, no, no, no…” He started running down the stairs, so Amelia and I quickly followed him back out to the TARDIS. “I've got to get back in there. The engines are phasing. It's going to burn!” He started working frantically, getting ready to jump back into the box.

“But it's just a box. How can a box have engines?” Amelia asked.

“Indie, explain!” The Doctor yelled, still frantically working on the ship.

“Uh, it’s not really a box. It’s a time machine.” I say, causing her eyes to widen. 

“What, a real one? You've got a real time machine?” I nodded in response, while the Doctor began speaking.

“Not for much longer if I can't get her stabilised. Five minute hop into the future should do it.”

“Can I come?” She asked, practically jumping with excitement.

“Not safe in here. Not yet. Five minutes. Give me five minutes, I'll be right back. You two stay here.”

“No!” I yell, shocking the Doctor a bit. “I have to come, Amelia can wait here.”

“Indie,” He finally stopped paying attention to the TARDIS, focusing solely on me. “It’s really not safe in there-”

“I don’t care.” All I could think about was what I read in the letter. “I have to come with you.” He stared at me for one moment more, then nodded in agreement. I brought myself down to Amelia’s height to speak to her. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

“Do you promise?” She said, still not letting go of my hand.

“Absolutely.” 

The Doctor helped me up onto the still sideways TARDIS. He took my hand into his, then jumped, pulling me with him. “Geronimo!” From there, it was difficult. We were both practically choking on the smoke, and we were hanging onto the console, trying not to fall again. “Give me a second! I’ll fix it!” He started frantically pressing buttons, until finally, gravity seemed to return to the TARDIS. I landed right on my ass, but the Doctor was already running around the console, making the similar wheezing noise return. “Just a five minute hope to the moon!”

I just barely got to stand up before the TARDIS went wild, making me hold on to the railing for dear life. “Do you even know how to fly this thing?” I yelled over the chaos.

“Oi! That’s rude!” Was his only response, which clearly wasn’t a “yes.” When we finally landed, he grabbed my hand once more and began dragging me out. “We should step out for a second, let the TARDIS try and vent some of the smoke out.”

“We can’t step out! We’re on the moon, we need spacesuits and oxygen and-” The Doctor cut me off by opening the doors. To my surprise, we didn’t immediately die. We stepped out of the TARDIS, and could breathe perfectly fine. And right in front of me was  _ Earth. _ “Wow.” I whispered taking in the view.

“You’re new, aren’t you?” The Doctor asked. I didn’t take my eyes off the planet, instead just choosing to nod. “The TARDIS protects us when we’re in space, gives us a bit of an air bubble.”

“This is insane.” I say, finally tearing my eyes away from the sight to look at him. “I mean, this is really my life now, isn’t it?”

“How new are you?” He asked, putting his hands into his pockets. 

“Well I’ve known you for like two hours, so…” He nodded, taking the information in. He looked less than pleased to be hearing it. “Well, uh…” He finally pulled something out of his pocket. “This is for you. For the TARDIS.” He handed me a necklace chain, with a small key attached to it. 

“...Thank you.” I say, with a small smile. I quickly put it on, letting the key fall on my chest. There was a bit of an awkward silence as we waited for the TARDIS to be ready for travel again. Before I knew it, I began to feel that similar headache. “Um, Doctor?” I say, getting his attention. “I think I might be leaving again?” 

“Oh-uh..” He looked like he wanted to hug me, but hesitated, instead choosing to put his hand on my shoulder. Personally, I think the hug would’ve been less awkward. “I’ll see you soon.”

“You too, Doctor.” Right as the words left my mouth, I felt the world fade around me, and I was once again floating in the dark.


	3. Cardiff and a Captain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> by the way Indie is from 2021 but the pandemic doesn't exist because i simply don't want to write about it
> 
> also there's plot/dialogue from Boom Town in this one so obviously anything you recognize isn't mine

There were three things I immediately noticed when I fell onto the TARDIS floor out of the dark dimension (That’s what I’m calling the place I end up in when I jump; the dark dimension. It’s a fitting name). One, This jumping thing  _ hurts _ . A lot. Even though it’s only the third time I’ve done it, I can already feel various bruises developing on my body, not to mention the splitting headache. Two, the TARDIS looks different. The first time I saw it, the interior was all silver and clean. This TARDIS looks more like the one I’d just left, only it clearly hadn’t been damaged yet. Which means this must be  _ before _ that. An earlier version of the Doctor. And third, I’m not alone. There’s two men and a woman in the ship, all talking and laughing. When I finally managed to gather the strength to stand up, the woman; a young blonde who was probably a year or two younger than me, noticed me first. 

“Indie!” She ran up, giving me a tight hug. I just kind of let it happen, not really hugging the girl back. I’m not really a hug type of person, especially when it comes to random white girls I’ve never met. “I’m glad you’ve finally arrived, there was starting to be a little too much testosterone around here.”

“Uh-” I don’t have the words to finish the sentence, but I don’t even have the chance to figure it out because one of the men was scooping me into a hug next, lifting me off my feet.

“Good to see you again, beautiful.” He put me down, but not before planting a kiss on my cheek that made my face heat up. “It’s only been about a week for us, if I’m counting my days right. How long has it been for you?” He asked. He kept one hand on my arm, rubbing it in a comforting motion.

“Um...I-” Now both people are looking at me, waiting for some kind of response. The blonde girl seems completely clueless that there’s anything wrong, but the guy - who still hasn’t let go of me - seems to have caught on . “I don’t actually...who are you?” I finally asked. I hate not knowing what’s going on, but I think I hate the reaction to my words even more. It’s like if the happiness got sucked out of the room. Both people stepped away from me, and the girl turned away and looked towards the other person in the room.

That’s when I finally took notice of the final guy in the room. It was just like the letter had described; yes he looked completely different, but it was obviously the Doctor. He no longer had the floppy hair or bowtie, but instead had short black hair, big ears, and a giant leather jacket. He looked older than the other one had, even though I knew that he was actually younger. He put down whatever he’d been working on, immediately making his way over to me.

“Doctor, what is she talking about?” The girl whispered, as the Doctor made his way across the TARDIS to join.

“Well Rose, Indie always said she jumped about time. It was inevitable that she’d have to meet you for the first time at some point.” He paused for a moment, before looking back at me. “You know who I am though, right? We’ve met?” 

“Yeah. I mean, not like this. You had a different face.” He had a faint smile at the answer, like it was the one he’d been looking for, before his face went back to normal.

“Well, this is Rose Tyler,” He pointed to the blonde, who gave a hesitant wave, “And this-”

“Captain Jack Harkness. Hi.” Jack held out his hand, winking as I shook it. “Pleasure to meet you, beautiful.”

I can’t help but smirk at his flirtatious attitude.

“Pleasure is all mine, Captain.” Jack laughed at my response, clearly pleased that I was willing to flirt back despite barely knowing him. Rose only scoffed, shaking her head at us like this wasn’t out the ordinary. The Doctor rolled his eyes, walking back over to whatever he’d been working on.

“Rose, why don’t you show Indie to her room so she can change out of the wet clothes. Jack, you can help me with repairs.” He said, picking up his tools. Jack gave both of us a salute before heading over to help the Doctor.

“I have a room?” I asked, Rose, who nodded in response. 

“Course, it’s just this way.” Rose said, waving me over to follow down a hallway. “I should’ve known you were young, you don’t even have your tattoos yet.”

“I get more tattoos in the future then?” I look over my arms as I speak, thinking of all the tattoos I’ve been wanting for years. I only have one on my ankle so far, but I’m saving up for my first big piece.

“Yeah loads - oh.” She stopped walking, then turned back to me with a guilty look in her eyes. “That was a spoiler, wasn’t it? You’re always getting on me about spoilers, sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Uh, I think it’s ok.” I interrupted, “I mean, I’ve been planning on getting more tattoos for a while now, it’s not exactly shocking that you’ve met a future me with more.” Rose let out a sigh, obviously relieved she hadn’t broken any rules. 

“Well, this is your room here.” She pointed at a white door, which had a gold sign with my name on it. “We’re not taking off for a while cause the TARDIS is refueling, so you should have plenty of time to clean up.” Rose explained.

When I opened the door, I was met with a fairly empty bedroom. It was a decent size, with a large bed, desk, and a bathroom connected to it. It was just bare. I immediately think of all the ways I could fill up the walls; should I put up pictures? Or paint them? Would the Doctor even let me paint the walls? I turned back to Rose, who I thought would be right behind me, but instead she was awkwardly standing just outside the door. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, uh, we’re not allowed in your room. I guess there’s spoilers in there.” Rose said, “I guess the room, it kind of changes based on your timeline, not ours. So however you leave the room in one time, when you come back in another time, it’ll be the same. I’m not really sure how that works to be honest, but that’s how you explained it to me.” 

“That’s convenient.” I mumble. The more I learn about my future, the lonelier it seems. Keeping secrets from friends, not even allowing them to be in my room, it doesn’t sound like the most fun. “Well, I’ll just get changed quickly and I’ll meet you guys in a few.” 

Rose said her goodbyes, and I spent a little more time looking around. I found a closet full of clothes, some of them seemed to be my favorite pieces from back home. I don’t know if they’re replicas, or if they’re the actual clothes from my place, but it felt great to change out of the wet work uniform and put on my favorite t-shirt and jeans. I also found some things that I’d always wanted, like a nice leather jacket and real Doc Martens instead of the cheap knockoffs I had at home. I don’t really have the time to fix the mess on top of my head, so my best option was to attempt to comb through it and french braid the curls. 

As I was getting dressed, the mirror in the closet revealed just how bad my bruise collection was getting. Because of my darker skin, usually bruises don’t look too bad or out of place, but the ones littering my arms and legs were some of the worst bruises I’ve ever seen. I could count at least 7 large ones on my arms and legs, and even though I can’t see them, I can certainly feel one or two on my back as well. Hopefully with time, I would get better at landing whenever I time jump so I don’t  _ always _ have bruises.

Rose had said that we weren’t going anywhere for a while, so I decided to take some more time to explore the room. I’ve been an artist for most of my life, and I found various art supplies available for me on the desk. Sketchbooks, pencils, paints, markers; anything I could want, really. Back home, I was trying to find a tattoo apprenticeship, and spent basically any time I wasn’t waiting tables working on my art. The blank white walls of the room are practically begging to be covered in my art.

On my bed, I found some more useful objects. A small backpack, a blank journal, and my cell phone. I didn’t believe it was my cell phone at first, considering I distinctly remember forgetting it on my dresser when I left for work, but here it is. Same apps, same phone case; same lack of notifications. I know it probably won’t even work until I’m back on 2021 Earth, but it’s nice having my own phone with me. I put my phone in my back pocket, and threw the journal with some pencils into the backpack to take with me. 

When I returned to the TARDIS console, I found that there was now a fifth person joining them. He’d been talking to Jack at the door, but pushed his way into the TARDIS.

“Don't tell me. This must be Mickey.” Jack said as the guy stormed in. The Doctor turned his head for a moment to acknowledge him.

“Here comes trouble! How're you doing, Ricky boy?” Mickey rolled his eyes before correcting the Doctor.

“It's Mickey!” He yelled back, before his attention landed on Rose. Even though I haven’t met this Mickey guy, it’s obvious how into her he is.

“Don't listen to him, he's winding you up.” Rose assured him as he walked up. Another thing that I found extremely obvious; Rose does  _ not _ feel the same way Mickey does.

“You look fantastic.” Mickey said, giving her a hug. I walked up to stand next to Jack, who immediately threw an arm around my shoulder before speaking.

“Aw, sweet, look at these two.” He then glanced over at the Doctor, “How come I never get any of that?”

“Buy me a drink first.” He replied, still fixing something atop his ladder. He glanced over at Jack and I before quickly averting his stare to the couple on the other side of the TARDIS.

“Such hard work. What about you Indie, do I have to buy you a drink?” He asked, looking down at me with a grin. 

I scoffed before answering, “Please, I’m a lady. I need a full meal.” Jack only laughed in response. Even though I don’t know these people yet, Jack made me feel oddly at home within the group of strangers.

“Did you manage to find it?” Rose asked Mickey, who was still giving her those lovey eyes. He pulled out what looked to be a passport. Do I need a passport? I’ve never had a passport, Should I ask the Doctor to get me one? 

“There you go.” Mickey handed her the passport. He looked a little annoyed that he’d been doing errands for Rose.

If Rose noticed his annoyance, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she held it up triumphantly before addressing the Doctor. “I can go anywhere now.”

“I told you, you don't need a passport.” He explained, pausing his work to talk to Rose.

“It's all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon, but what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it. You see, I'm prepared for anything.” She had a proud look on her face, but it disappeared once Mickey spoke again.

“Sounds like you're staying, then.” There was a moment of silence again, though not as bad as when I had told the others she hadn’t met them yet. It was more awkward. I’ve always hated silence, so I stepped into the conversation.

“What’s the Glass Pyramid of San...did you say Kaloon?” I asked moving towards the couple. Rose looked back at her, grateful for the change of topic.

“Oh, you’ll love it. It’s this giant pyramid, kind of like the ones in Egypt, only it was built in the 43rd century by the Kaloon people-”

“The Karonelth.” The Doctor interrupted, clearly still listening despite having resumed work on the TARDIS.

“Right, the Karonelth, and they used it as protection from the deadly acid storms on the planet!”

“Why would you visit a planet with deadly acid storms?” I asked. This made both Rose and Jack laugh, even the Doctor had a bit of a smirk on his face. “What?”

“It was your idea.” Jack explained, “You’re always getting us into trouble.”

“Yeah, but the Doctor was off by a few hundred years. By the time we got there, the Karonelth had learned how to stop the acid storms, so it was just a big gift shop.” Rose explained.

“Oh...so I knew we wouldn’t be in any danger, because you told me this story.” I concluded, relieved that I hadn’t gotten us into any real danger. Rose wince at her mistake.

“Yeah...that was another spoiler then, wasn’t it?” Rose looked guilty again. Clearly this would be a common occurrence with her.

“So, what're you doing in Cardiff?” Mickey asked, bringing the attention back to him. I felt a little guilty, cause I’d forgotten he was even there, but one look around the TARDIS showed that I wasn’t alone.

“Oh, We just stopped off. We need to refuel. The thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city. It's invisible, but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions.” As Rose spoke, the Doctor made his way over to the rest of the group.

“The rift was healed back in 1869.” He explained, before Rose jumped in.

“Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth, because these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it.” Jack started speaking now, as if they had rehearsed this story somehow.

“But closing a rift always leaves a scar, and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race.” Jack pauses, allowing the Doctor to jump in.

“...But perfect for the Tardis, so just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and-”

“Open up the engines, soak up the radiation...” Jack continued.

“Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!”

“Into time!”

“And space!” They all finished together, high fiving among themselves. I looked at Mickey, who was giving me an incredulous look.

“My God, have you seen yourselves? Why do you put up with them, Indie?” 

I only shrugged. Clearly I’d get used to it at some point. “I don’t know, I haven’t done it yet.”

“She’ll join in eventually.” The Doctor explained, smirking at me.

“Absolutely not. If you see me acting that nerdy, shoot me.” I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring back at the Doctor. Sure, he may have the advantage of actually knowing me in the future, but I can’t help but be stubborn.

“Do yourself a favor, Indie, try not to make bets about the future with a time traveler. You’ll lose.” The Doctor said, giving me a triumphant grin.

~~~

The five of them were having a nice afternoon together. They’d walked around the town; turns out they’re in Wales. Not only were they in Wales, but it was Wales in  _ 2006 _ . Right now a 6 year old version of herself was in New York with her dad. I tried not to dwell on it too much, but every time I saw someone walking around with a flip phone or low rise jeans I couldn’t help but think about how different the world would become in just a few years. 

We ended up getting lunch at a nearby restaurant, swapping various stories and getting to know each other more. It felt a lot like the family dinners from when I was a kid.

“I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean tusks! And it's woken, and it's not happy.” Jack exclaimed, telling us a story from his Time Agency days. We were all laughing loudly, causing quite a scene in the otherwise quiet restaurant.

“How could you not know it was there?” The Doctor asked, smiling as he listened along. Jack didn’t answer, instead continuing with the story.

“And we're standing there, fifteen of us, naked-”

“Naked?!” Rose interrupted, not believing where the story had gone.

“And I'm like, oh, no, no, it's got nothing to do with me. And then it roars, and we are running. Oh my God, we are running! And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and I say-” Jack continued,

“I knew we should've turned left!” Mickey exclaimed, finishing the story off and making us all laugh.

Rose and Jack kept talking, but I noticed the Doctor had stood up and moved across the room. He grabbed a newspaper from a man, not caring about the protests as he read. “Doctor? What’s wrong?” I asked, drawing the rest of the table’s attention over to the Doctor as well.

“And I was having such a nice day.” The Doctor responded, turning the paper so we could all see the headline. The Doctor sat back down with us, allowing everyone a chance to get a closer look at the article. 

“What’s wrong with the mayor?” I ask, still not understanding why everyone else was so concerned.

“She’s a Slitheen, her family tried to start World War Three a few months back, but we stopped them. She shouldn’t even be alive.” Rose explained, “Why would she want to be mayor of Cardiff?” She asked, looking to the Doctor for answers.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.” He answered.


End file.
